Thursday, October 31, 2019

Informational Interview Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Informational Interview - Article Example He told me that perseverance and relentless struggle are two most important skills which I need to work on if I wanted to become a professor in biomedical engineering in the future. This is because this is a highly competitive field and great focus on emerging technologies and research work is required to gain a competitive edge over other players in the field. I discovered that to become a fellow of AIMBE which is a US association reserved only for the top 2% of the best biomedical engineers, one should get fiercely engaged in research activities involving areas of biological and pharmaceutical systems. The top three qualities of a professional in the field with which Dr. Putnam is associated refer to a deep understanding of engineering design principles, production of functional biomaterials, and design of those biomaterials. When I asked Dr. Putnam about how I can make myself a more competitive or desirable applicant in any job area related to biomedical engineering, he wisely tol d me that I should develop keen interest in research work and remain prepared to conduct a series of experiments to fulfil that purpose which demands a lot of

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

International Financial System Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

International Financial System - Assignment Example The international gold standard was declared dead in 1933 at the London Conference although all major nations including the UK, the US, Italy, and France wanted a return to the international gold standard. The proposal of drawing rights with the aim of stabilizing exchange rates also could not be initiated. The reason for the collapsing gold standard was attributed to the US and the UK forcing low peg to gold, as a result no consensus could e reached among major countries on returning back to gold standard. Increased tariff barriers were also one of the reasons hindering other nations to support a return to the gold standard; also other nations doubted Britain’s intentions of getting the benefit in the Commonwealth by not effectively forcing fiscal measures (Action Forex 2010). Some of the rescue options included reining in of foreign capital flow to safeguard emerging economies, strengthening the monetary power of the IMF and codification of debt rescheduling by permitting co untries to request IMF to file for a debt hold agreement (Mandel & Foust 1998). From 1939 to 1942 Britain exhausted all its stock of gold in purchasing ammunition, which made it clear that return to the gold standard was not possible. The predictions of John Maynard Keynes got proved to become a part of the â€Å"stability pact† finding Keynes voice heard in the Bretton Woods Agreement, signed on 1944 (Action Forex 2010). Bretton Woods Agreement was signed for the establishment of International Bank for Reconstruction (IBRD, the World Bank), etc.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Nano Science and Nano Technology Comparison

Nano Science and Nano Technology Comparison Whenever the topic nano technology comes up most of us dont have a clear idea of what it is. Especially when it is about the difference between nano science and nano technology. Then what is nano science? Nanoscience is the study of objects with size less than hundred nanometers at least in one dimension. When objects go to nanometer scale in size, their behavior get changed applied laws may not be the same as when they were larger in size. Nanoscience involves finding governing laws of these tiny objects, deriving theoretical models to describe the behavior of those nanoscale materials and analyzing the properties of them. So, what is Nano technology? Nanotechnology is engineering the nanoscale objects at molecular level using different techniques. Nanotechnology is all about techniques and tools to come up with a nanoscale design or system that exploit the properties at molecular level to be more accurate and efficient. Using the knowledge on material behaviour at nanoscale which is got from nanoscience, nanotechnology focuses on properties such as strength, lightness, electrical and thermal conductance and reactivity to design and manufacture useful items. How did all start? The emergence of nanotechnology in the 1980s was caused by the convergence of experimental advances such as the invention of the scanning tunneling microscope in 1981 and the discovery of fullerenes in 1985, with the elucidation and popularization of a conceptual framework for the goals of nanotechnology beginning with the 1986 publication of the book Engines of Creation. The conceptual origin The American physicist Richard Feynman lectured, Theres Plenty of Room at the Bottom, at an American Physical Society meeting at Caltech on December 29, 1959, which is often held to have provided inspiration for the field of nanotechnology. Feynman had described a process by which the ability to manipulate individual atoms and molecules might be developed, using one set of precise tools to build and operate another proportionally smaller set, so on down to the needed scale. In the course of this, he noted, scaling issues would arise from the changing magnitude of various physical phenomena: gravity would become less important, surface tension and Van der Waals attraction would become more important. The Japanese scientist called Norio Taniguchi of Tokyo University of Science was the first to use the term nano-technology in a 1974 conference,[11] to describe semiconductor processes such as thin film deposition and ion beam milling exhibiting characteristic control on the order of a nanometer. His definition was, Nano-technology mainly consists of the processing of, separation, consolidation, and deformation of materials by one atom or one molecule. However, the term was not used again until 1981 when Eric Drexler, who was unaware of Taniguchis prior use of the term, published his first paper on nanotechnology in 1981. In the 1980s the idea of nanotechnology as a deterministic, rather than stochastic, handling of individual atoms and molecules was conceptually explored in depth by K. Eric Drexler, who promoted the technological significance of nano-scale phenomena and devices through speeches and two influential books. In 1980, Drexler encountered Feynmans provocative 1959 talk Theres Plenty of Room at the Bottom while preparing his initial scientific paper on the subject, Molecular Engineering: An approach to the development of general capabilities for molecular manipulation, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 1981.[1] The term nanotechnology (which paralleled Taniguchis nano-technology) was independently applied by Drexler in his 1986 book Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology, which proposed the idea of a nanoscale assembler which would be able to build a copy of itself and of other items of arbitrary complexity. He also first published the term grey goo to describe what might happen if a hypothetical self-replicating machine, capable of independent operation, were constructed and released. Definition Nanotechnology is a multi-disciplinary engineering field, which draws from and benefits areas such as materials science and engineering, chemistry, physics, biology, and medicine Nano-engineered materials, addresses the synthesis, characterization and engineering application of several classes of advanced materials, including nanocrystalline materials and nanopowders used in electronics and photonics applications, as catalysts in automobiles, in the food and pharmaceutical industries, as membranes for fuel cells, and for industrial-scale polymers. The design, synthesis, characterization, application and fundamental studies of new crystalline metal oxide nano-materials that may be used for next-generation rechargeable batteries. Nano-engineering of polymer electrolyte membranes. Hydrogen fuel cells use these membranes to combine hydrogen and oxygen and produce energy. Development of nano-particles as powerful catalysts for petrochemical refinery applications. Basic and applied research in photonic and photonic band gap crystals for optical and microwave communications. Design, synthesis, fundamental understanding and processing of polymer nano-composites, which are used in several applications for the automotive, aerospace, electronic components and packaging industries. Nano-electronics, addresses the development of systems and materials that will enable the electronics industry to overcome current technological limits. Also part of this theme area is a new generation of electronics based on plastics, which is expected to create new markets with applications ranging from smart cards to tube-like computers. Experimentation in electron beam lithography, to fabricate nanostructures and nanoelectronic devices, and to determine how the arrangement of molecules affects the chemical properties of substances. Fundamental studies and development of nanocrystalline thin-film semiconductors, devices and circuits for electronics and spintronics. Development and fabrication of Micro- and Nano-Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS/NEMS). New devices being researched include NEMS-based metamaterials, miniature signal processing devices, biomedical, diagnostic and image processing devices, tiny wireless components (filters, mixers, antennas), miniature opto-electromechanical devices (optical relays, optical multiplexers, deformable optics), miniature biosensors and environmental sensors, and micro- and nano-fluidics devices. Organic synthesis, characterization and application of molecular organic semiconductor materials for electronic/optoelectronic devices. These materials are uniquely positioned to allow low cost fabrication processes (e.g., printable electronics) and to enable novel applications, such as, flexible- and molecular-electronics. Nano-biosystems, addresses the molecular manipulation of biomaterials and the engineering of nanoscale systems and processes of biological and medicinal interest, such as, for example, the targeted delivery of therapeutic agents and the design of DNA, peptide, protein, and cell chips. Interfacing nano-chips to bio-molecules. Creation of nano-vehicles that mimic the way viruses interact with specific cells. This will facilitate the delivery of drugs directly to targeted cells, and could, for instance, eliminate the toxic side-effects of chemotherapy by directing the therapeutic agents to cancer cells only. Development of nanotechnology methods for therapeutic applications, for example, for replacing faulty DNA or RNA strands with corrected strands. Development of nano-techniques for inactivation of microbes: an efficient and cheap method of food sterilization. Nano-instruments addresses some of the most far-reaching yet practical applications of miniature instruments for measuring atoms or molecules in chemical, clinical, or biochemical analysis; in biotechnology for agent detection; and environmental analysis. Lab-on-chip and micro-nano fluidic devices for biodiagnostics and protein sequencing. Fundamental studies leading to development of theories behind measurements at the nano-scale. Fabrication of instrumentation and development of methodology for micro- and nano-analytical chemistry for measurements of pollutants on-site. Using micro as an interface between the nano-scale and the macroscopic, human-scale. Development and characterization of mobile micro- and nano- instruments that are small, cheap and under wireless control. Measurement of how nano-materials grow and form on surfaces. Studies of polymer interfaces, adhesion and confinement of polymer chains glass transition in confined geometries. What do we have so far? scientists at the Department of Energys Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a catalyst made of carbon, copper and nitrogen and applied voltage to trigger a complicated chemical reaction that essentially reverses the combustion process. With the help of the nanotechnology-based catalyst which contains multiple reaction sites, the solution of carbon dioxide dissolved in water turned into ethanol with a yield of 63 percent. Typically, this type of electrochemical reaction results in a mix of several different products in small amounts. How it started The ideas and concepts behind nanoscience and nanotechnology started with a talk entitled Theres Plenty of Room at the Bottom by physicist Richard Feynman at an American Physical Society meeting at the California Institute of Technology (CalTech) on December 29, 1959, long before the term nanotechnology was used. In his talk, Feynman described a process in which scientists would be able to manipulate and control individual atoms and molecules. Over a decade later, in his explorations of ultraprecision machining, Professor Norio Taniguchi coined the term nanotechnology. It wasnt until 1981, with the development of the scanning tunneling microscope that could see individual atoms, that modern nanotechnology began. Once scientists had the right tools, such as the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and the atomic force microscope (AFM), the age of nanotechnology was born. Although modern nanoscience and nanotechnology are quite new, nanoscale materials were used for centuries. Alternate-sized gold and silver particles created colors in the stained glass windows of medieval churches hundreds of years ago. The artists back then just didnt know that the process they used to create these beautiful works of art actually led to changes in the composition of the materials they were working with. Todays scientists and engineers are finding a wide variety of ways to deliberately make materials at the nanoscale to take advantage of their enhanced properties such as higher strength, lighter weight, increased control of light spectrum, and greater chemical reactivity than their larger-scale counterparts. Manufacturing at the nanoscale is known as nanomanufacturing. Nanomanufacturing involves scaled-up, reliable, and cost-effective manufacturing of nanoscale materials, structures, devices, and systems. It also includes research, development, and integration of top-down processes and increasingly complex bottom-up or self-assembly processes. A product of nanomanufacturing: A 16 gauge wire (above), approximately 1.3 millimeters in diameter, made from carbon nanotubes that were spun into thread. And the same wire on a 150 ply spool (below.) Courtesy of Nanocomp. In more simple terms, nanomanufacturing leads to the production of improved materials and new products. As mentioned above, there are two basic approaches to nanomanufacturing, either top-down or bottom-up. Top-down fabrication reduces large pieces of materials all the way down to the nanoscale, like someone carving a model airplane out of a block of wood. This approach requires larger amounts of materials and can lead to waste if excess material is discarded. The bottom-up approach to nanomanufacturing creates products by building them up from atomic- and molecular-scale components, which can be time-consuming. Scientists are exploring the concept of placing certain molecular-scale components together that will spontaneously self-assemble, from the bottom up into ordered structures. Within the top-down and bottom-up categories of nanomanufacturing, there are a growing number of new processes that enable nanomanufacturing. Among these are: Chemical vapor deposition is a process in which chemicals react to produce very pure, high-performance films Molecular beam epitaxy is one method for depositing highly controlled thin films Atomic layer epitaxy is a process for depositing one-atom-thick layers on a surface Dip pen lithography is a process in which the tip of an atomic force microscope is dipped into a chemical fluid and then used to write on a surface, like an old fashioned ink pen onto paper Nanoimprint lithography is a process for creating nanoscale features by stamping or printing them onto a surface Roll-to-roll processing is a high-volume process to produce nanoscale devices on a roll of ultrathin plastic or metal Self-assembly describes the process in which a group of components come together to form an ordered structure without outside direction Structures and properties of materials can be improved through these nanomanufacturing processes. Such nanomaterials can be stronger, lighter, more durable, water-repellent, anti-reflective, self-cleaning, ultraviolet- or infrared-resistant, antifog, antimicrobial, scratch-resistant, or electrically conductive, among other traits. Taking advantage of these properties, todays nanotechnology-enabled products range from baseball bats and tennis rackets to catalysts for refining crude oil and ultrasensitive detection and identification of biological and chemical toxins. A high resolution image of a graphene transistor with a sheet of carbon only one atom thick. This high speed electronic device was createdÂÂ   using nanoscale processes, and may one day be used for better computerÂÂ   hips. (Courtesy of James Yardley, Columbia University Nanocenter, an NNI-sponsored NSEC) Nanoscale transistors may someday lead to computers that are faster, more powerful, and more energy efficient than those used today. Nanotechnology also holds the potential to exponentially increase information storage capacity; soon your computers entire memory will be able to be stored on a single tiny chip. In the energy arena, nanotechnology will enable high-efficiency, low-cost batteries and solar cells. For more products and applications that use nanotechnology, see Benefits Applications or browse our database of the NNIs Major Achievements in Nanotechnology. Nanotechnology RD, and the eventual nanomanufacturing of products, requires advanced and often very expensive equipment and facilities. In order to realize the potential of nanotechnology, NNI agencies are investing heavily in nanomanufacturing RD and infrastructure. Over 90 NNI-funded centers and user facilities across the country provide researchers the facilities, equipment, and trained staff to develop nanotechnology applications and associated manufacturing processes. The NNI helps drive the nanomanufacturing field by providing researchers and small businesses with access to this specialized equipment in order to maintain global U.S. competitiveness. To assist in agency coordination in the area of nanomanufacturing, the Nanoscale Science, Engineering, and Technology (NSET) Subcommittee created the Nanotechnology Innovation and Commercialization Ecosystem (NICE) Working Group. The Presidents FY 2017 Budget provides $1.4 billion for the National Nanotechnology Initiative, including an estimated $37 million for nanomanufacturing. The National Nanomanufacturing Network (NNN) is an alliance of academic, government and industry partners that cooperate to advance nanomanufacturing strength in the U.S. The NNI and its member agencies actively participate in, support, and contribute to the NNN in its mission to advance nanomanufacturing. The NNN functions as part electronic resource, part community of practice, and part network of experts working on the development of nanomanufacturing. The NNN fosters technology transition and exchange through a host of activities including reviews and archiving of emerging materials, processes, and areas of practice, strategic workshops and roadmap development. InterNano is the information arm of the NNN-a digital library resource of timely information on nanomanufacturing and a platform for collaboration, providing information archiving in areas of processes and tools, standards, reports, events, and environmental health and safety databases. A scanning tunneling microscope (STM) is an instrument for imaging surfaces at the atomic level. Its development in 1981 earned its inventors, Gerd Binnig and Heinrich Rohrer (at IBM ZÃ ¼rich), the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1986.[1][2] For a STM, good resolution is considered to be 0.1 nm lateral resolution and 0.01 nm (10 pm) depth resolution.[3] With this resolution, individual atoms within materials are routinely imaged and manipulated. The STM can be used not only in ultra-high vacuum but also in air, water, and various other liquid or gas ambients, and at temperatures ranging from near zero kelvin to over 1000ÂÂ °C.[4][5]Â   Â   STM is based on the concept of quantum tunneling. When a conducting tip is brought very near to the surface to be examined, a bias (voltage difference) applied between the two can allow electrons to tunnel through the vacuum between them. The resulting tunneling current is a function of tip position, applied voltage, and the local density of states (LDOS) of the sample.[4]Information is acquired by monitoring the current as the tips position scans across the surface, and is usually displayed in image form. STM can be a challenging technique, as it requires extremely clean and stable surfaces, sharp tips, excellent vibration control, and sophisticated electronics, but nonetheless many hobbyists have built their own. Atomic-force microscopy (AFM) or scanning-force microscopy (SFM) is a type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the optical diffraction limit. The information is gathered by feeling or touching the surface with a mechanical probe. Piezoelectric elements that facilitate tiny but accurate and precise movements on (electronic) command enable very precise scanning. The AFM has three major abilities: force measurement, imaging, and manipulation.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Essay --

William Blake was born in London on November 28, 1757 to James and Catherine Blake. His father, James was a hosier (seller of legwear) in London. Blake had four brothers, James, John, Richard and Robert; and a sister named Catherine (Harris 5). Blake got along best with his younger brother, Robert as they shared an interest in art (Clarke 1). As a young boy, Blake claimed to have had visions of God, spirits, prophets and angels. When he was four he is claimed to have seen God’s head in his window. In his most famous vision, he saw the prophet Ezekiel under a tree and a tree of angels when he was nine (â€Å"Early Years†). Though his parents believed he was lying, they took into consideration that their son was â€Å"different† and did not believe he would succeed in a traditional school setting (â€Å"Poets†). So Blake was home schooled by his mother until he was ten years old. Blake was constantly by himself as a boy â€Å"†¦to seek a world of the i magination without fear of recrimination by others† (Harris 21). As a child, Blake spent his time engraving drawings of the Greek antiquities his father bought for him â€Å"(Early Years†). James and Catherine supported and encouraged Blake’s artistic ability and enrolled him in Henry Par’s drawing school in the Strand when Blake was 10 years old, there he first started writing poetry (Harris 5). He enjoyed the works of Shakespeare, Jonson and Spenser and ancient ballads as opposed to current literature at the time (â€Å"The Young Artist†). Some of Blake’s favorite artists ranged from Raphael, Michelangelo, Giulio Romano, Albrecht Dà ¼rer, and Maerten Heemskerck. (Merriman 2) In 1772, Blake was apprenticed to the engraver James Basire the engraver to the London Society of antiquities, due to the high cost of dra... ...nius during the French Revolution, aware of impending economic change and sick to the bone of ruling hypocrisy †¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Hagstrum 97-98). Implications Charles Swinburne, Percy Shelly, T.S Elliot and James Joyce all drew their influence from Blake (Profumo 1). William Butler Yeats especially was inspired by his philosophical and poetic ideas and even edited an edition of Blake’s collected works (â€Å"Blake and Shelley†). Bob Dylan Alasdair Gray, Jim Morrison, and Allen Ginsberg also have hints of Blake’s poetry (â€Å"William Blake in Doors†). More recently his poems have modified by U2, Jah Wobble, Tangerine Dream, Bruce Dickinson, M. Ward and Ulver (Maher 4) . His poems have been inspiration for characters of a number of writers of the twentieth century. Blake has been the muse for comic book writers Alan Moore, Grant Morrison, R. Crumb, and J. M. DeMatteis (Whitson 1).

Thursday, October 24, 2019

My Spring Break

My Spring Break Excited for the spring break? Spring Break or Midterm Break, as some people call it, is a week given to the students at universities and schools in some countries. People usually go out of the city to relax and enjoy their time. The vacation meets with the weekend holiday of St. Patrick's day. Therefore, I decided to go with my sister to watch the parade in South Boston. Going there was challenging for us. While we were in the train station, everyone was going in the same direction. We were in the middle of the crowd when suddenly everyone stopped.It was really crowded and we couldn't move until the train came and some people got on it. When we got close to the train, we had to wait for another one. The transit police were telling people to move forward for more space to the upcoming crowed. Finally, we got on the train with all that pushing from people. It took us 30 minutes to arrive at our destination. It was my first time seeing the parade. I did not know what to expect there. My sister and I stood there for about an hour waiting to see something until one man shout â€Å"I see the flags†.At that moment, I was very excited to see what was next. A three young men appeared holding huge flags. That was followed by different performances such as Irish traditional music and dancing. Also, the parade included some soldiers' groups from the Army and the Navy. Furthermore, there were several politicians who participated in the parade as well. It was fascinating to watch all of that. You can tell that the people were ready to celebrate. On our way, we noticed how most of them were wearing green and heading there with family and friends.Some of them wore big green hats and necklaces, especially the kids. Others wore unusual costumes and painted their faces. People were getting drunk and enjoying their time. The day was not only celebrated by the Irish but also by people from different countries. In conclusion, going to the parade was a great ex perience for me. I learned about the Irish culture and religion. Additionally, I realized how it is important for them to celebrate this day. It was great sharing that with them and getting to know them up close. I definitely enjoyed my day.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Media studies coursework for John Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” Essay

We are doing a study of the opening sequence on the novel â€Å"Of Mice and Men†, and the subsequent two films (1995 version, and the 1989 version) on the Novel. The author of the novel is John Ernst Steinbeck, who shares the exact same name as his father. His father was an observer of nature and the natural world, and taught the young Steinbeck to respect and to be a part of nature. This love of nature from his father is incorporated in Steinbeck’s opening sequence of the book, where he describes in great detail the opening beside the Salinas River, this causes a calm and tranquil feeling for the reader and draw him straight into the book. Steinbeck was born and raised in Salinas in California and bases his book around both that area and in the time he was writing it, which was during the American depression in the 1930’s. The opening sequence of the book is set a few miles south of Soldad, in the Salinas river. The Salinas river is a peace full and tranquil place with lots of vegetation and wildlife and gives a very slow and calm start to the book. Steinbeck indicates that it is a spring evening of a hot day, and judging by the two men’s clothes it is sometime in the early 1900’s but he does not indicate exactly what period in the early 1900’s they are in. We can tell they are in this period from the second paragraph when he mentions that there are â€Å"boys coming down from the ranches†. From this and the clothes they are wearing we can also tell that the two men (George and Lennie) are working class and are most likely looking for a job on the ranch near by. We can tell they are working class because before the 1940’s only poor people amd workers would wear that type of clothes, â€Å"denim trousers and denim coat†. This is because they are easy to work in, are not very hot clothes to wear, and also are very durable so they are ideal for workers. The upper class would never wear this type of clothing exactly because the workers wear it and it is not descent clothing for a respectable gentleman to be wearing. The mood set in the book is very tranquil and quiet with great detail paid on the countryside and the animals in it. This is to try and give the reader an exact picture of the scene. Some examples of this are; â€Å"the water is lined with trees-willows fresh and green with every spring, carrying in their lower leaf junctures the debris of the winter flooding; and sycamores with mottled, white, recumbent limbs and branches that arch over the pool†. Another example of this is â€Å"Evening of a hot day started the little wind to moving among the leaves. The shade climbed up the hills toward the top. On the sand-banks the rabbits sat as quietly as little grey, sculpture stones.† In the first paragraph Steinbeck describes the noises and the imprints that have been left in the opening from the animals over many years, â€Å"On the sandy bank under the trees the leaves lie deep and so crisp that a lizard makes a great skittering noise as he runs through them†. And with â€Å"the damp flats are covered with the night tracks of ‘coons, and with the spread pads of dogs from the ranches, and with the split-wedged tracks of deer that come to drink in the dark â€Å". The second paragraph describes how the pool is a popular place for many people and the path has been worn down by human use: â€Å"path beaten hard by boys coming down from the ranch to swim in the deep pool†. The path is also popular with Tramps who want to â€Å"jungle-up near water†. The Characters involved in the opening sequence are called Lennie and George. Lennie seems to be rather dumb and not very observant by the fact that wen his partner (George) stopped right in front of him Lennie carried on walking and â€Å"nearly ran him over†. Lennie does not think of his own safety and needs George to guide him so he can say out of trouble and in good health. He proves this by drinking out of the filthy water from the pool witch is described as being green, witch shows it is not running water. He drank â€Å"with long gulps, snorting into the water like a horse†. Lennie listens to George obediently like a little child, and follows his every command and movement. He again shows his child like behaviour and naivety when he moves his fingers in the water and makes little rings, he immediately shares his excitement with George as he wants him to look, because he is proud of what he has done; â€Å"look George look what I done† he calls to him. We also have the picture of Lennie not being very bright from his physical appearance and the way that he walks. Lennie is described to have a â€Å"shapeless face† witch show lack of emotions and thought witch in turn is linked his lack of intelligence. The way it he walks also show either tiredness or again lack of intelligence â€Å"dragging his feet a little† and the way his arms move like pendulums. Steinbeck relates how he walks he walks to a bear meaning, this because he is saying he is big and strong, or because he has very little intelligence and does not think at all or he might be relating the bear to both his strength and his intelligence. George on the other hand is more intelligent than Lennie and seems to be the leader out of the two them. We get the idea that George is the leader by the fact that they are walking in single file and George is leading, this also gives us at first glance the impression that they might not be friends because usually friends walk next to each other not behind one another. We see a bit later on that this is not true and that George was probably just looking out for Lennie from the fact that he tries to stop Lennie drinking from the dirty pool â€Å"‘Lennie!’ he said sharply. ‘Lennie for God’s sakes don’t drink so much† this shows that he cares for him and doesn’t want Lennie to get sick. George’s appearance is more defined than Lennie’s with â€Å"small, strong hands, slender arms, a thin bony nose.† He is also described as being quick, this could probably means that he is more intelligent but it could also mean that his movement is quick. The genre of the novel is a real life drama. I have come to this conclusion because all the facts in opening sequence are all possible in real life, all the scenery is realistic the animals and the people are all realistic. There are only a few clues to what the story will be like. The clues that we have are that the clearing that George and Lennie are in is near to a ranch because it says in the book that boys come down from it to swim in the pool. We also think that George and Lennie are workers from the cloths they are wearing, so it is perfectly feasible that they are two travelling men looking for work on a nearby ranch. If this is true it would also account for the theme of the book. The 1995 film of â€Å"Of Mice and Men† opens with white credits on a black background and slow starting music. The music repeats itself over and over in a pattern while increasing in volume, this gives the effect that something dramatic or scary is going to happen and this makes the reader feel anticipation of what is going to happen next. After a while the music dies down and gives way to the sound effects of a train moving. The background also changes from totally black to black with white strips of light shining through, this gives the effect of a carriage door on a train. We are now sure that this scene is set on a moving train, but we still have no indication of where it is going or where it has come from. So far there is only a slight indication of the period of time we are in at this point of the film. This is the train because it is a steam train witch indicate to us that this is most likely before the 1970’s and after the 1880’s because this is around a bout the time that steam trains were used. The first glimpse we get of any of the character is when the camera slowly fades into a close-up shot of George lit only from the tiny beams of light coming from the slits in the carriage door. George is not moving at all and his face seems contorted and morose, showing us that he is in deep thought about something bad that has happened in the past, we can also assume now that he is on the train because he is running away from whatever has happened. The next scene strikes you very strongly because it is set in the middle of the day in a lush field witch looks like America. Running towards the camera there is a woman in a bright red dress with tears running down her eyes and obvious signs of distress on her face, her dress has also been ripped as though she has been attacked. This scene has been shot at a slower frame rate to indicate that it is actually George reliving previous events that have happened. The girl running towards the camera showing that she is running away from something, and towards safety. As the Woman runs closer to the camera the shot pans out across the field showing some men working in a field near by. As the women runs towards the men she starts waving and pointing to the direction she has just come from, The men drop their tools and run towards her. All this indicates that something very serious has happened to the Girl. The Men workings in the field have no machinery witch is also an indication of the pe riod we are in. There are three main atmospheres established in the opening sequence of this film these (in order of happening) are; anxiety, fear, and peacefulness. The anxiety is felt at the beginning when you hear the music getting louder and louder and the white on black background, and when you see George for the first time. The first time you feel fear is when you see the girl running through the field towards the workers with the tears running down her face and the rips in her dress. Then there is a small moment of heightened suspense when we see the two friends George and Lennie running away. We feel this way because the music has suddenly stopped and there is only the slight sound of their feet hitting the ground as they run. We go back to the emotion of utter fear and anxiety as we fear for the two men’s lives as they are running away from huge packs of dogs and a posy of men on horse back with guns. Suddenly everything goes quiet as George and Lennie hide in an irrigation ditch while they wait for the chasing posy to pass by. This jump for the loud roaring of feet, horse shoes, and loud barking from the dogs to the quiet gives a feeling of fear and anxiety but it also gives a sense of peace, as you can hear the wind rustling in the wind, the grasshoppers croaking in the distance, and the shallow breathing of the men in the water. The sub characters in the video are workers on a ranch we can tell this from the clothes they are wearing and the fact that they are working on the field when we see them. We can also assume that the main characters George and Lennie are also workers because they were wearing the same clothes as the workers. George seems to be the leader out of the two as he keeps giving instructions to Lennie as they are running away from the workers such as â€Å"keep moving† and â€Å"get down†. He also says it in a reasonably friendly tone showing that he is looking after both himself and Lennie. He doesn’t not sound like he is just trying to save himself and he is stuck with Lennie. Lennie on the other hand doesn’t seem to be that worried because he doesn’t realise in what danger they are in. This is shown when Lennie stops running at one point and comments on the dogs that are chasing him. Lennie does not seem that clever either mainly because he doesn’ t realise what danger he is in, he also seems to be dragging his feet and his speech seems impaired. The clues we have to the story line of the film are the men working on the field, the clothes the men are wearing and their accents, and also the chase seen when George and Lennie are being chased. The story could be about two working men trying to find work while being chased by the law because of some crime they committed and that is why they were running away. This will also be the theme of the film if it is true. The genre of the film so far looks like a western real life drama because of the accents of the men, the time in which this is set in and the fact that everything that has happened could happen in real life in that era. The 1989 video at first glance just looks like another low budget spin of a great book and actually seems like it holds no information at first glance. But if you look at it again you see it does actually hold a lot of information just like the other film did even though the budget was obviously not as big and it was shot 6 years earlier. There is though a large area of the end of the sequence of this video, which is actually totally made up, this includes adding Aunt Clara to the story which in actual fact has died many years ago in the book and in the other film. I feel adding this character holds no relevance to the book and there is no meaning to add her. The 1995 video on the other hand even though the director had rearranged the order in which the scenes appear he did not add any other characters to the story line. By the clothes George and Lennie, what appears to be the sheriff, and Aunt Clara are wearing, and also the style of housing you can tell they are in America in the early 1900’s. There is also Gospel music playing in the background when George and Lennie enter Aunt Clara’s house and there is also a gramophone in the room near the doorway. The clues given as to what the story will be like is George and Lennie running away from the law, George helping Lennie get away and keeping him quiet when they are in the field by coping his hand over Lennie’s mouth. Other clues to what the story will be like is Aunt Clara’s house and herself, George and Lennie could be running away from the law for some reason and going to live with Aunt Clara to lay low for a bit. Another main clue to the story is the music witch is very much like the music in western films with cowboys and Indians this and the contrasting clothes that the pursuers are wearing makes us think this is going to be a western film. From all this we cam also say that the theme of this video will be that of a western with two men on the run from the law. There is very little tension in this film and everything is taken very lightly and almost like a game. This is because the music is very happy with a jumpy rhythm and also a more cowboy style tune, the pursuers have no guns drawn and they seem to be in hurry to catch them and seem to give up very easily. George and Lennie also don’t seem to be in a great hurry to get away and there is no sense of fear in their face when we see the close-up shots, because of this it seems almost like they are playing a game in the fields with a couple of friends, like little kids do. The Genre of this video seems to be a real life western drama. I have come to this conclusion because of everything that has happened could happen in real life and because the pursuers seem to be wearing western type clothes and because of the very strong western music. This time both Lennie and George do no seem that bright both from their appearance and from the way they acted and behaved. Both of them look very scruffy instead of just Lennie and they both have this very deep western accent that is associated with intellectually challenged people. George even though his appearance and his voice is the definite leader out of the two, we are shown this when he tells Lennie what to do and when he cups his hand over Lennie’s mouth to keep him quiet. Another sign that George is the leader is that when they are in Aunt Clara’s house Lennie repeats every word they say. In resent years we have seen the decline of book reading because there has been a vast increase in the standard of T.V quality. The person being entertained does not have to think any more, to picture the scene in his head and so doesn’t have to concentrate so hard. This is why many people just watch T.V these days instead of reading a book. They find it more relaxing, they are almost sleeping there mind and body are asleep this is also why you get addicted to the T.V because your body finds another way to replenish it energy without sleeping. T.V lowers your imagination though, and your concentration span because your brain doesn’t think while watching T.V but while it is reading a book it is constantly thinking and imagining possibilities of what the scene will look like and the characters. I honestly prefer after a had days work to sit in front of the television and just relax a bit. But if I am just bored and I want some entertainment I will open my book and read for couple of hours. My preferred sequence is that of the books because it gives you an exact idea of the scenery and the people while also giving you room to imagine for yourself what they look like. I also enjoyed a lot the 1995 version because it brings a lot of tension and anxiety into the film witch is the opposite to what you feel in the book. This tension and anxiety raises your adrenaline and gives you a enjoyable and on the edge of you seat experience.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Last Night That She Lived by Emily Dickinson

The Last Night That She Lived by Emily Dickinson Almost every poem has an attitude that explains us the poem to give us a better understanding. The use of language and the style of the poem also lead us to being comfortable with the text. In this poem, the title "The Last Night that She Lived" already hints us about the somber attitude ahead.As we start off with the poem, the first stanza gives it to us, that a death has occurred in a normally Common Night. The meaning of the two capitalized letters C in common and N in night tells us that a night which is usually common, something different has occurred. The C and the N gives emphasis to both words to make us notice the difference as it comes ahead.In the next paragraph, there is a slight change of tone where the viewers of this scene are looking at the lady and remembering the littlest things that didn't mean much before.leisure world luton

Monday, October 21, 2019

Agricutural Reveloution essays

Agricutural Reveloution essays This video was about the development of mankind and how agriculture helped develop mankind. Agriculture and production of food began about 10,000 years ago. Hence, the world population could not have grown without the agricultural revolution. Without the development of agriculture, the modern and urban society would not have developed. Early man hunted fish, dug for nuts, and gathered crops. But today we take everything for granted. However, instead of gathering, men and woman cultivated the crops. The beginning of plants are connected to climatic change, however some people in Alaska, Africa, India still hunt for their food. Today's farmers are descendents of previous settlers but since we have the availability of products we take everything for granted. For example, foods from different parts of the world and especially canned foods. The early farmers would get the best grain and plant them, this was serial cultivation. The introduction of farming spread vastly, and then advanced into Europe. A variety of animals were domesticated in different parts of the world such as goats, sheep, donkey, pig, and horse. So the dimensions of humans completely changed, once agriculture began people were tied into their land. Agriculture made diversity as communities spread. The demand of agriculture called for greater cooperation. Overall, I thought this video was good. It explained how crops were cultivated and planted and once agriculture got started how people changed their ways. This video gave an accurate understanding of principles on cultivation. Personally, The Agricultural Revolution was an easy to understand and descriptive video. ...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Albert Camus the Plague Essay Example for Free

Albert Camus’ the Plague Essay ? Can God possibly exist in a world full of madness and injustice? Albert Camus and Samuel Beckett address these questions in The Plague and Waiting for Godot. Though their thinking follows the ideals of existentialism, their conclusions are different. Camus did not believe in God, nor did he agree with the vast majority of the historical beliefs of the Christian religion. His stance on Christianity is summed up most simply by his remark that â€Å"in its essence, Christianity (and this is its paradoxical greatness) is a doctrine of injustice. It is founded on the sacrifice of the innocent and the acceptance of this sacrifice† (Bree 49). Camus felt that Jesus Christ was an innocent man who was unjustly killed. This does conflicts with all of Camus’ values. However, Camus did not believe that Jesus was the son of God. Camus’ inability to accept Christian theology is voiced in The Plague by Riex and juxtaposed against the beliefs preached by Father Paneloux (Rhein 42). Paneloux’s attitude toward the plague contrasts sharply with Rieux’s. In his first sermon, he preaches that the plague is divine in origin and punitive in its purpose. He attempts to put aside his desires for a rational explanation and simply accepts God’s will. In this way he is not revolting and therefore falls victim to the plague. Father Paneloux’s belief that there are no innocent victims is shaken as he watches a young boy die of the plague. Camus purposefully describes a long, painful death to achieve the greatest effect on Paneloux: â€Å"When the spasms had passed, utterly exhausted, tensing his thin legs and arms, on which, within forty-eight hours, the flesh had wasted to the bone, the child lay flat, in a grotesque parody of crucifixion† (215). Paneloux cannot deny that the child was an innocent victim and is forced to rethink his ideas. During his second sermon, a change is seen in Father Paneloux. He now uses the pronoun â€Å"we† instead of â€Å"you,† and he has adopted a new policy in which he tells people to believe â€Å"all or nothing† (224). Father Paneloux, as a Christian, is faced with a decision: either he accepts that God is the ultimate ruler and brings goodness out of the evil that afflicts men, or he sides with Rieux and denies God. The conclusion formed by Camus is that because this is a world in which innocent people are tortured, there is no God. Samuel Beckett does not necessarily deny the existence of God in Waiting for Godot. If God does exist, then He contributes to the chaos by remaining silent. The French philosopher Blaise Pascal noted the arbitrariness of life and that the universe works based on percentages. He advocated using such arbitrariness to one’s advantage, including believing in God. If He does not exist, nobody would care in the end, but if He does, a believer is on the safe side all along, so one cannot lose. In this play, either God does not exist, or He does not care. Whichever is the case, chance and arbitrariness determine human life in the absence of a divine power. This ties in with the two tramps’ chances for salvation. As one critic observes, â€Å"For just as man cannot live by bread alone, he now realizes that he cannot live by mere thinking or hanging on in vain to a thread of salvation which does not seem to exist† (Lumley 203). This explains Vladimir and Estragon’s contemplation of suicide after Godot remains absent for yet another day. One could also argue, in the absurd sense, that each man has a fifty-fifty chance of salvation. One of the two prisoners who were crucified with Jesus was given salvation. This element of chance for salvation can also be extended to Pozzo and Lucky in Waiting for Godot. When they come across the two tramps, Pozzo is on his way to sell Lucky because he claims that Lucky has grown old and only hinders him. In this way Pozzo is trying to draw that fifty-fifty chance of salvation for himself. One of the ways in which Lucky hinders him is that Lucky could be the one to be redeemed, leaving Pozzo to be damned. Even Lucky’s speech is concerned with salvation: Given the existence†¦ of a personal God†¦ outside time without who from the heights of divine apathia divide athambia divide apaia loves us dearly with some exceptions for reasons unknown†¦ and suffers†¦ with those who for reasons unknown are plunged in torment. (28) After removing all of Lucky’s nonsensical meanderings, the gist of his speech is that God does not communicate with humans and condemns them for unknown reasons. His silence causes the real hopelessness, and this is what makes Waiting for Godot a tragedy Albert Camus’ the Plague. (2018, Nov 08).

Friday, October 18, 2019

Malaysia - Mahathir politics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Malaysia - Mahathir politics - Research Paper Example These policies have created heated debates in the country and recently Prime Minister Najib Razak did appear to be taking a U-turn by introducing New Economic Model to ensure development across all regions, races, and sectors of the economy (Hooker & Othman, pp. 47-48, 2003). Before coming in power as the Prime Minister of the country, Mahathir Mohammad took a bold stance by writing the book titled â€Å"The Malay Dilemma†. He believed that the Malay Dilemma is the fact that many different ethnic groups and communities have ruled the country, learned the language of the native people, took over the resources and business of their ancestors, and exploited them for their own good throughout the Malaysian History. He believed that the Malays had become strangers and salves in their own land. They have the biggest stake in the country and the growing discontent amongst these people was the main cause of the racial riots in the country. The dilemma is that the Malays are forced to accept the systematic steps taken by the government to give them exposure in the economy and according to Mahathir; they should accept it to move forward in order to create an integrated, peaceful, and ethnically diverse Malaysian society (Cheah, pp. 301-302, 2002). During his era, Mahathir placed immense importance on Islam and Islamic principles during his regime in the country. Mahathir believed that Islam strongly stresses on equality and social justice in all lifestyles and the inability of the people to follow those and principles and the inability of the government to implement the same has remained the major cause behind the amplification of Malay Dilemma (Hunter, pp. 264-268). Mahathir gets the credit for the economic progress and development that he brought to the country, which started in the year 1990 when the previous economic policy expired. Mahathir’s National Development Policy was aimed at increasing the share of Malays in the national income to 30 percent, reducing poverty in the country, attracting foreign investment through liberalization and free market economy, improving the infrastructure in the country and others. Until 1997, the Malaysian economy grew at an annual average growth rate of 9 percent. However, the 1998 Asian financial crisis did happen to put the brakes on country’s economic growth (Khoo, 74-75, 2003). In his early years of power, Mahathir has realized that the Dakwah movement is a strong force and in order to ensure his power, he will have to focus on the same as well. Therefore, under Mahathir’s administration, the government placed great importance on Islam and with the help of Anwar Ibrahim, the financ e minister of Malaysia then, a process of Islamization started in the country with government adopting a â€Å"look east† rather than â€Å"look west† policy. In addition, this resulted in increased media coverage for Islam and Islamic issues, increasing funds for Islamic religious organizations, founding Islamic banks and Islamic insurance companies, including Islamic teachings and principles in the school curriculum and others (Mohamad, pp. 20-21, 2010; Peletz, pp. 55, 2002). As a Muslim, Mahathir held this belief that Islam is different from other religions and it is a complete code of life. Therefore, Islam should have its due interference in the matters of State as well. When Mahathir came into power, there was increasing wave of Islamism amongst the Malays who were becoming more religious and more conservative. Since they represented the biggest chunk of Mahathir’

Article 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Article 4 - Essay Example Seemingly, a rush decision to implement what has not been sufficiently exhausted may elicit a regressive effect rather than a progressive one. Generally, the article expresses confidence in the new technology but expresses reservations of its actualization in the absence of utter scrutiny from all the concerned stakeholders. R-DNA plays a pivotal role in expediting the time within which DNA results are obtained (Asplen par. 1). In the past, the experience has always been waiting for lengthy durations for the determination of DNA results. The problem with that was that the further away the results were from the time of the commission of a crime, the more problems it paused for the investigation team. The DNA played the role of a component in the investigation because it could not be sufficiently relied to isolate the identity of a suspect. However, with a possibility of getting the DNA results within a record ninety minutes to one hour, the DNA test will assume the role of driving the investigations and not merely being a component. R-DNA is poised to free government labs of various tests that previously conducted there. Such a move will see the government labs intensify lab usage for sophisticated tests that require human intervention to figure out the conclusion. According to Asplen (par. 3), the room created in the labs will enable specialists to curl through evidence to come up with a hidden information to expedite the judicial process. R-DNA is also likely to prove useful to government agencies that are not criminal in nature (Asplen par. 6). For example, border patrol may wish to establish the authenticity people’s identifications through this test. Current mechanisms for establishing a person’s identification are culpable of artificial alterations, thereby compromising the integrity of the system. For example, use of fingerprints may prove

Free Market Economy and Financial Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Free Market Economy and Financial Crisis - Essay Example The companies had come to this point of crisis because free market had allowed them to make investments due to which the institutions were posed to risks. Millions of people in America lost their jobs and had their savings bushed. A number of factors have been blamed for this crisis but economists believe that free market is the very basic factor amongst all. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz wrote in his book Freefall that market fundamentalists and deregulators are responsible for the mess. The situation showed that free-market economists failed and market fundamentalists were responsible for the economic crunch (Sorman 2010). The economy of United States of America witnessed only a few minor recessions each for a short period of time. Those recessions did not stir the economy enough to cause economists to develop a well descriptive recession model. With no major recessions over a long time, the economists tend to believe that the crisis may not happen. The model derived by free marke t economists was running a healthy economy from 80s to 2008 making economists believe that the model may not turn the situation upside down (Sorman 2010). The free market economists argue that it is the recession that prompted the financial crisis and not the other way around. Economists believe that recession began in 2007 when consumer spending decreased, overdue borrowing increased and lack of interest of homeowners in their mortgaged houses increased. They claim that the failure of financial derivatives were not the cause of financial turmoil as they were helping in the stabilization of the economy. Economists assume that due to a sudden economic downfall government faced pressure from political and non political forces to take immediate steps. This led to government spending and its intervention in the scenario which seemed quite logical at that time. The situation worsened with new public debts and regulations which stumbled upon the recovery of the economy (Sorman 2010; Bordo et al 2010). The economy could be recoiled in a quicker way if government had allowed enterprises to survive on their own by dealing with the crisis with an astute strategic approach. It is also believed that the financial turmoil was brought about by the recession but the initial slump was the result of energy cost as well. The US expenditure of energy as expressed in percentage of total spending had droppedfrom 8 to 5 percent between 1979 and 2004. The price of gasoline had hit $4 per gallon by June 2008, representing a sharp shift in energy share of total spending back to 7 per cent. The shift was due to the increased demand from evolving economies like China and India which soared up the prices. The price grabbed attention as the spending pattern showing a considerable upward movement was an indication of disruption. The unit sales of light truck curtailed by 23 per cent in the second quarter of 2008 in comparison to the preceding year’s 2nd quarter.The auto manufacturin g industry cut over 125,000 jobs during the same period. The energy prices affected transportation and hence the housing sector as the houses in the suburban region lost their value and attraction. Failure of the mortgage market came up as another blow in 2007, prior to the financial cri

Thursday, October 17, 2019

An Epidemic of Fear Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

An Epidemic of Fear - Essay Example The impact of their study back then is worth nothing such that even today the immunization rates of measles, mumps and rubella have not been fully recovered. About the outbreak of epidemic emerging a year before Wakefield’s research was proven to be fraudulent, I feel that there was no connection between vaccines and autism in the first place. The research was highly plausible. In his article â€Å" An Epidemic of Fear†, Offit voiced out various risks. He never lobbied the Bush administration in its endeavors to implement a program that was aimed at giving smallpox vaccines to tens of thousands of Americans. He feared that implemented this program will kill people. According to him, the preventive vaccine was a bigger risk than the risk of chicken pox itself. It was the notion of risk in his mind that triggered the anti-vaccine movement. He felt that the parents should be given the option to opt out of such vaccines and be able to see for themselves if the movement would be risky for children or not. The idea was also embedded in CDC’s vaccination schedule- the overall risk to public health after such a move was too big to allow individuals or to give them the liberty to make decisions that will affect their communities. The risk is also one of the main motivating aspects of Offit’s life. He took the risk of giving his teen children the flu-vaccine even before it was recommended for children of their age group. The risk here for him was the harm inflicted on his children if they got sick. He wanted to protect his children at any risk and he also wanted Americans to be completely educated about risk and not automate their thinking mechanism. According to him â€Å" choice not to get a vaccine is not a choice to take no risk, It’s just a choice to take a different risk, and we need to be better about saying, ‘Here’s what that different risk looks like.’  

Evaluating Design Choice and Threats to Validity in an Experimental Coursework

Evaluating Design Choice and Threats to Validity in an Experimental Design - Coursework Example er had selected the quasi design because the research was taking the shape of an experimental research that was going to involve an educational experimentation on the impact of a 2-tier curriculum on the academic performance of students. In quasi design, the most outstanding difference that is observed from other forms of designs is in the selection of respondents because quasi design lacks the fundamental ingredients of random assignment of respondents (Wade et al, 2009). The quasi design was selected based on a number of factors. The first has to do with the fact that the researcher was undertaking an educational experiment and thought that the quasi design was going to ensure accessibility to respondents since there was going to be a very large population to deal with. It has been noted that in situations were there are large populations for the researcher to deal with; working with quasi design reduces the total amount of work that the researcher has to do in a random sampling pr ocedure. Therefore, it was easier for the present researcher to select just a class and use the register system to select the sample size. Another reason behind the author’s rationale for quasi design was in the fact that the quasi design presented itself with the opportunity to undertake individual case studies whiles addressing the original research problem. Such integrated case studies were necessary in testing the variables to the latter. Finally, quasi generally aided in the reduction of overall time and resource needed to complete the research (Broadwings, 2009). This was an important rationale because the researcher was undertaking an academic research that was time bound. Having selected the quasi design, the researcher outlined a number of validities of the research. The first type of validity presented was in the background of the respondents, all of who the researcher noted was having the same educational background and so had an equal chance of meeting the variables set.

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Free Market Economy and Financial Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Free Market Economy and Financial Crisis - Essay Example The companies had come to this point of crisis because free market had allowed them to make investments due to which the institutions were posed to risks. Millions of people in America lost their jobs and had their savings bushed. A number of factors have been blamed for this crisis but economists believe that free market is the very basic factor amongst all. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz wrote in his book Freefall that market fundamentalists and deregulators are responsible for the mess. The situation showed that free-market economists failed and market fundamentalists were responsible for the economic crunch (Sorman 2010). The economy of United States of America witnessed only a few minor recessions each for a short period of time. Those recessions did not stir the economy enough to cause economists to develop a well descriptive recession model. With no major recessions over a long time, the economists tend to believe that the crisis may not happen. The model derived by free marke t economists was running a healthy economy from 80s to 2008 making economists believe that the model may not turn the situation upside down (Sorman 2010). The free market economists argue that it is the recession that prompted the financial crisis and not the other way around. Economists believe that recession began in 2007 when consumer spending decreased, overdue borrowing increased and lack of interest of homeowners in their mortgaged houses increased. They claim that the failure of financial derivatives were not the cause of financial turmoil as they were helping in the stabilization of the economy. Economists assume that due to a sudden economic downfall government faced pressure from political and non political forces to take immediate steps. This led to government spending and its intervention in the scenario which seemed quite logical at that time. The situation worsened with new public debts and regulations which stumbled upon the recovery of the economy (Sorman 2010; Bordo et al 2010). The economy could be recoiled in a quicker way if government had allowed enterprises to survive on their own by dealing with the crisis with an astute strategic approach. It is also believed that the financial turmoil was brought about by the recession but the initial slump was the result of energy cost as well. The US expenditure of energy as expressed in percentage of total spending had droppedfrom 8 to 5 percent between 1979 and 2004. The price of gasoline had hit $4 per gallon by June 2008, representing a sharp shift in energy share of total spending back to 7 per cent. The shift was due to the increased demand from evolving economies like China and India which soared up the prices. The price grabbed attention as the spending pattern showing a considerable upward movement was an indication of disruption. The unit sales of light truck curtailed by 23 per cent in the second quarter of 2008 in comparison to the preceding year’s 2nd quarter.The auto manufacturin g industry cut over 125,000 jobs during the same period. The energy prices affected transportation and hence the housing sector as the houses in the suburban region lost their value and attraction. Failure of the mortgage market came up as another blow in 2007, prior to the financial cri

Evaluating Design Choice and Threats to Validity in an Experimental Coursework

Evaluating Design Choice and Threats to Validity in an Experimental Design - Coursework Example er had selected the quasi design because the research was taking the shape of an experimental research that was going to involve an educational experimentation on the impact of a 2-tier curriculum on the academic performance of students. In quasi design, the most outstanding difference that is observed from other forms of designs is in the selection of respondents because quasi design lacks the fundamental ingredients of random assignment of respondents (Wade et al, 2009). The quasi design was selected based on a number of factors. The first has to do with the fact that the researcher was undertaking an educational experiment and thought that the quasi design was going to ensure accessibility to respondents since there was going to be a very large population to deal with. It has been noted that in situations were there are large populations for the researcher to deal with; working with quasi design reduces the total amount of work that the researcher has to do in a random sampling pr ocedure. Therefore, it was easier for the present researcher to select just a class and use the register system to select the sample size. Another reason behind the author’s rationale for quasi design was in the fact that the quasi design presented itself with the opportunity to undertake individual case studies whiles addressing the original research problem. Such integrated case studies were necessary in testing the variables to the latter. Finally, quasi generally aided in the reduction of overall time and resource needed to complete the research (Broadwings, 2009). This was an important rationale because the researcher was undertaking an academic research that was time bound. Having selected the quasi design, the researcher outlined a number of validities of the research. The first type of validity presented was in the background of the respondents, all of who the researcher noted was having the same educational background and so had an equal chance of meeting the variables set.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Dramatic irony Essay Example for Free

Dramatic irony Essay The Inspector makes Mrs Birling expand on what should be done to the boy and Mrs Birling not realising what has happened by linking together the parts carries on, the Inspector asks, So hes the chief culprit anyhow? and Mrs Birling replies, Certainly. And he ought to be dealt with very severely-. It is now, if the audience hadnt already worked it out from when Mrs Birling about the father being a drunk, her realising from others Erics a drunk, and the Inspector wanting Eric to stay so he could see him later, that we realise from Sheilas dramatic Mother-stop-stop! Erics the father. It is such a dramatic moment, there is suspense and tension; it shocks the audience and yet Mr and Mrs Birling still dont see Eric as the father and tell Sheila to be quiet. Mrs Birling doesnt stop, shes already spoken about how the father should be made an example of and she on basically saying what should be done to her son, make sure hes compelled to confess in public his responsibility. The Inspector too confirms what she has said asks again if she is sure that that should happen, she agrees, it is then she realises, the penny drops, its Eric. Shes shocked. Mrs Birling has, in other words, told the Inspector that her son is responsible, should be made an of and confess in public without even knowing it. She has convicted her own son. This is dramatic irony as we, the audience have realised it was Eric and shes carried on sentencing him. She has matters worse, which she will eventually regret. This is such a dramatic part of the play, she has condemned her own son to the blame and also without realising killed her own grandchild I dont believe it. I wont believe it.- She will believe it. The next dramatic moment is shorter in length but still or even more, dramatic. This is the moment at the end when the Inspector has left and everyone is left questioning what has happened.  After the Inspector has left the family start blaming one another for the girls death. It is after this that Sheila, first of all and then the others question the Inspectors existence Its queer-very queer-. When Sheila says this Mrs Birling seems to understand what Sheilas thinking I know what your going to say. Because Ive been wondering myself, to which Sheila replies, It doesnt matter now, of course-but was he really a police inspector? Sheila and Eric dont think it matters but Mr and Mrs Birling clearly think it does, Well, if he wasnt, it matters a devil of a lot. Its clear that the younger generation, Sheila and Eric, have very different views form that of their parents. Sheila and Eric do not feel that it matters if the Inspector wasnt a police inspector, its what they have all done that is the important part, theyve killed a woman, He was our Inspector alright.-Eric. Gerald then returns and tells them that he has found out that the Inspector was not a real police inspector. Although they had their doubts this puzzles everyone. Gerald then has idea that all that had happened wasnt to the same girl. To confirm his thoughts he rings up the infirmary and asks if there is anyone who has committed suicide by drinking disinfectant. There is no girl. Everyone apart from Sheila and Eric are relieved and act if nothing has happened, Sheila and Eric question the way they behaved but Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald dont care. Just when they are trying to forget, the phone rings. The drama starts when Gerald rings the Infirmary. There is a tense wait for us to know whether there is a girl, to which all this happened to, or if the things Mr and Mrs Birling, Sheila, Gerald and Eric did was all to one girl. The characters actions add to the tension we sustain, for example Birling wiping his brow, Sheila shivering and Eric clasping and un-clasping his hands, showing their nerves. No girl has died in there today. Nobodys been brought in after drinking disinfectant. They havent had a suicide for months. We are lulled into believing it is over; that the suspense has ended and there is nothing more to happen. Mr and Mrs Birding and Gerald are relieved but it is only Sheila and Eric that keep in consideration what they have done and actually seriously think about what has happened, Sheila But youre forgetting one thing I still cant forget. Everything we said had happened really had happened. If it didnt end tragically, then thats lucky for us. But it might have done. This just shows the difference of the natures of the characters. Sheila shows herself as being concerned and truly sorry for what she has done, as well as Eric. However, Gerald, Mr Birling and Mrs Birling show the totally opposite view on what has happened, they come across as selfish, cruel and arrogant people from the way they behave. An example of this is when Mr Birling says, The whole story was a lot of moonshine. Nothing but an elaborate sell! Sheila says how disgusted she is with their behaviour, Mr and Mrs Birling and Gerald carrying on not caring. Gerald tries to get Sheila back into thinking of the wedding Everything all right now Sheila. What about the ring. This is a prime example of Geralds attitude towards what has happened. Sheila-No, not yet. Its too soon. I must think. Mr Birling then says something very ironic. After all that he and his wife, the older generation, have done and the way they have acted towards this situation (terribly), he turns round and comments on the younger generation, who are clearly more sensible, caring and altogether better, and says Now look at the pair of them-the famous younger generation who know it all. And cant even take a joke. This is in response to Sheila saying no to Gerald, it is very ironic. It is now that it happens, the most dramatic part of the play. The Phone rings. It rings sharply, immediately we think the worst, is it? Has a girl been found in the same situation as Eva Smith? The actions of the characters, their moment of complete silence is very tense. Mr B. answers the phone; he talks slowly dragging the moment on. His actions are slow intensifying; he slowly puts down the phone. He looks in a panic stricken fashion at the others. The audience knows what is about to come but are still waiting for it to be confirmed. Mr Birling confirms our thoughts; a police inspector is on his way as a girl has just died after swallowing some disinfectant. This ending is very, very powerful. It changes the nature of the play as it becomes a mystery-who was the inspector? It becomes cyclical and therefore spiritual-how many more times will it happen? Will it start again when the inspector arrives?  An Inspector Calls with its dramatic moments is a very powerful play. It has skilful climaxes and wonderful twists to the plot. It is a very enjoyable play that always keeps you on edge.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Models of Professionalism in the PR Industry

Models of Professionalism in the PR Industry Professionalism is an attempt to translate one order of scarce resources, specialist knowledge and skills into social and economic rewards (Larson, 1977). It is describes as a sphere of expertise and identifying level of practice and competencies among Public Relations practitioners which has been developed for over hundreds years ago in our society. Different Public Relations (PR) associations shall practice different forms of code ethics. For example most of PR associations adopted Code of Athens while others have their own code of ethics as guidelines. In accordance to Brown (1986), he defined ethics as a set of values that establishes the criteria by which conduct will be judged. Ethics also are culture-bound and therefore create some difficulties for global public relations practice. Thus, Code of Ethics is a formal statement of an organisations values on certain ethical and social issues. The famous four models that influence the contemporary public relation theories of practice were adapted from Grunig and Hunts (1984). They comprised of Public agentry /publicity that was used to draw attention to an event. A two-way asymmetric will deal with the feedback from the public by providing persuasive communication. Whereas a two way symmetric is mutual understandings between the public and organisation that was built through dialogue, listening and understanding. Other theories discussed are the systems theory that helped to explain and predict organisation behaviours and contribution of PR role to the entity as whole. A situational theory is a tools to categorise publics perceptions of a situation and their subsequent behaviour; and agenda setting theory discussed about the media and the way news is selected by media outlets for consumption by the public (Sheehan Xavier 2009). PR practitioner are demanded to be ethical as they go professional. According to Seithel (1997), PR practitioner must be honest and trustworthy to cater the needs of the public and individual organisation in order to protect those who entrust their well being to the professional (try to rephrase the sentence- vague). They also need to protect their profession values and commit themselves to uphold the profession by honouring its obligation and values. In order to quantify professionalism, PR practitioner should demonstrate their skills on handling special tasks. Professionalism are divided into three categories. First, it is an act to serve the best interest of client and public, Utility of vagueness (Kultgen,1988) which contributes to the ideological use of functionalist models in the struggle for status. Secondly, it acts as an ideology of advocacy (Simon, 1978) where professional is neutral and detached from the clients purposes and also create an aggressive partisan of the client working to advance the clients needs. Finally, they denote a right that the public possesses by virtue of being the primary, generic unit in society. It is also denotes a benefit(s) from publics relationship with other units to insure the well-being of society as a whole.(nda ku paham) However as Bayles (1981) states not all responsibilities are those of individual professionals. Some are responsibilities of a profession as a whole and cannot be reduced to obligations of individual professionals. The use of professionalism normally linked in PR field with the expression of the need to improve occupational standing- body of knowledge, ethics and certification to understand the defining characteristics of profession (Cutlip, Center Broom, 1994, pp.129-163; Grunig Hunt, 1984,pp. 66-69; Wylie, 1994). This is to improve the effectiveness of public relations as well as their image of presentation. But how? Any examples For example, Institute of Public Relation in Malaysia does not belong to individual professional Public Relations practitioner but its portals who desire the systematic, organized growth and development of Public Relations as a profession, who contribute positively to the nations continuous growth and development in all spheres of human endeavours. This was subjected due to the different culture backgrounds and races in Malaysia. The main objective of Institute of Public Relation in Malaysia is to enhance professionalisms among public relations practitioners in Malaysia. To be more specific, the objectives of Institute of Public Relation in Malaysia are:- 1.Supports research and other educational activities in public relations. 2.Giving advice and provide information and create opportunities for discussions on all aspects of public relation activities. 3.To promote the understanding, development and recognition of public relations. 4.To established and prescribe standards of professi onal and ethical conduct and ensure the observance of those standards. 5.To encourage the attainment of professional academic qualification. 6.To nurture, promote and maintain contacts with public relation practitioners. The Institute of Public Relation in Malaysia (IPRM) has its own code of ethics to manage the practice of Public Relations in Malaysia. Public Relations practitioners in Malaysia are governed in two ways, firstly by the Code of Professional Conduct (Code of Athens) which was enforced by the institute of Public Relations Malaysia. Any negligence they can be fined and deregistered. Secondly, it is governed by the law of the country where Public Relations practitioner can be sued or imprisoned for any offences committed under the law of the country such as Printing Presses and Publication Act 1984, Seditition Act 1948, Defamation Act 1957, Copyright Act 1987 and Internal Security act 1960, revised in 1972. Institute of Public Relation in Malaysia Code of Ethics was adapted from the Code of Athens where all members should:- 1.Conduct professional activities with respect for the public interest 2.Shall at all time  deal fairly and honestly with his client or employers, past and present, with fellow members and with the general public 3.Shall not intentionally disseminate false or misleading information; maintain truth, accuracy and good taste. 4.Shall not engage in any practices which tend to corrupt the integrity of channels of public communication. 5.Shall not create or use of any organisation purporting to serve some announced cause  but actually promoting a special private interest of a member or his client or his employer which is not apparent 6.Shall safeguards the confidence of both present and formers clients and employers. Shall not disclose confidential information. 7.Shall not represent conflicting or competing interest 8.Shall not accept fees, commission or any other valu able consideration from anyone either than his client or employer. 9.Shall not attract business unfairly 10.Shall not purpose to prospective client or employer that his fee or other compensation to be contingent on the achievement of certain result. 11.Shall not intentionally injure the profession reputation or practice of another member 12.Shall not engaged in or be connected with any occupation or business which is not consistent with membership of the institute. 13.Shall not seek to supplant another member with his/her employer or client, no shall he/she encroach upon the professional employment of another member unless both parties are assured that there is no conflict of interest involved. 14.Shall corporate with fellow members in upholding and enforcing the code. In Malaysia, system theory of public relations and strategy strengthen the concepts of public relations management in Malaysia. System theory (general system theory) is widely being applied to the field of public relation in order to explain and predict the organisational behaviours and explain how the public relations role contributes to the entity as a whole (Sheehan and Xavier, 2009). With the application of system theory, professional can play their adaptive roles in shaping the standards of professionalism based on the concept of adjustment and adaptation of public relations. It is important in creating transparency of the organisations to their environment. Professional public relations practitioners should be able to respond to the dynamic real world, especially in competitive business environment (Cutlip et al., 2000; Cornelissen, 2004:167) For example, case study done by Zulhamri Abdullah and Therry Threadgold: Waste Management Company, CEOs stated that Unlike multinational companies which are taking a great concern over public relations as they have gone up and down, but some Malaysian companies have not really exposed to high competition and being having good at all time. Malaysian CEOs must be more agile and competitive. Communication is very important for a company to be appeared as the best company. This can be done by communicating and engaging your business with external stakeholders. Thats why we invest in PR to be seen by our stakeholders. A real PR practitioner must be able to influence a CEOs thinking and judgement. Here, PR is a part of top management committee. This statement shows the importance of the role of PR in the company and how the CEOs trust the PR ideas and judgement towards decision- making. Good communication skills will help the PR to exploit the business deals with internal and external stakeholders. In order to realise this vision, the development of PR knowledge is important towards the professionalism in the field. For nurturing real professionals and improve level of competencies among PR fraternity, it will take a long process. A lack of talent, skills and competency among PR practitioners are the most critical issues faced by the organisations/sectors. Accreditation is an important requirement in professionalization of PR practice which is based on voluntary rather than an imposed mandatory system. It should be more focus on providing technical and managerial knowledge and skills which is more complex and sophisticated. Social responsibility was the aim of IPRM and other PR Institute, in order to proof occupations value to the society by giving or putting facts which can be supported by the truth. Organisation in democratic societies exists with consent of the public so it is a must for the organisation to be socially responsible. There are some advantages and disadvantages of socially responsible PR. The advantages are by helping them to improve their professional practice through codifying and enforcing ethical conduct and standards of performance, stressing the need of the public. Also they serves the public interest by discussing the view articulate in the forum and to promote human welfare by helping social system to adapt the changing needs and environments. Whereas as a drawback, PR gains advantages for and promote special interest, sometimes at the cost of the public well being, strangled the channels of communication that confuses, and also corrodes the channel of communication with the cynicism and credibility gap. As conclusions, in order to be professional Public Relations practitioner, he/she must abide the code of ethics which have been provided by their organisations. They also should be trustworthy in handling specific task in order to gain trust from clients and the public itself. The level of skills to be professional will be judged through their expertise on handling the tasks given. ( dang ur conclusion not good enuf lah write more.. kalo boleh support with any statement) References: Abdullah Z. Threadgold T. Towards the Professionalisation of Public relations in Malaysia: Perception Management and Strategy Development. (accessed date 16/08/09) Barlett, J., Twyoniak, S. Hatcher, C. 2007. Public relations professional practice and the institutionalisation of CSR. Journal of Communication management, 11, 4, 281-99. Bivins, T. 1993. Public Relations, Professionalism, and the public interest. Journal of Business Ethics, Feb, 12, 2. Cornelissen, J.P. 2004. Corporate Communication: Theory and Practice. London: Saga Publication. Cutlip, S.M., Center, A.H broom, G.M. 2000. Effective Public Relations. London: Prentice Hall International, Inc. Institute of Public Relation in Malaysia.2009. Code of Ethics. http://www.iprm.org.my/index.php/code-of-athens/english-version (accessed date 16/08/09) Johnston J Zawawi C (eds), 2004, Public Relations Theory and Practice , 2nd edn, Allen and Unwin, Crows nest, NSW Pieczka M. and LEtang J. 2006. Public relations and the question of professionalism, in LEtang and Pieczka (eds). Public Relations Critical Debates and Contemporary Practice. Mahwah NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum, 265-78 Sheehan M. Xavier R. (eds) 2009, Public Relations Campaigns, 1st edn, Copyright Agency Limited, Sydney NSW.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

The Cobb-Douglas Production Function for South Africa Essay -- South A

Introduction For every firm to produce goods it needs inputs such as capital and labour. Mankiw (2005) refers to capital set of tools that workers use in the process of production e.g. Machineries such as computers whereas labour refers to the hours that employee invest working. Production function refers to the output of a firm, an industry or an entire economy for all combination of inputs (Banaeian and Zangeneh, 2001).Economists use production function to precise the relationship between labour and capital and according to Mankiw (2005). Production functions reveal the available technology for transforming labour and capital into output. Tang (2008) highlighted the fact that theory of productivity was proposed by Knut Wicksell in 1851 which contributed a lot towards the works of Charles Cobb and Paul Douglas. Cobb-Douglas production function was developed by Cobb and Douglas in 1928 which is a fundamental function even now in both Macroeconomics and Microeconomics. The Cobb-Douglas production function is normally utilized by economists in the direction of explaining the correlation between contributions of resources involved in production such as labour, capital and technology.Cobb-Douglas production function and constant elasticity of substitution functions are playing a significant role for analysis in economics. Cobb-Douglas production function is still universally used toward the analysis of productivity and growth (Felipe and Adams, 2005). Felipe and Adam accepted as true that Paul Douglas is one of the economists who deserved a Novel Price for his marvelous works. Cobb and Douglas suggested that elasticity of substitution between capital and labour should be constant or equals to one even though they did not specify ... ....worldbank.gov. (2011). Data on Gross Domestic Product and Total employment of South Africa. World Bank. http://www.southafricanreservebank.co.za. (2011). Data on Fixed Capital Stock of South Africa. South African Reserve Bank Mankiw, NG. (1995). â€Å"The Growth of the Nations†. Brookings paper of economics activities. pp 275-326 Mankiw, NG. (2005). Macroeconomics, International edition. Worth Publishers: New York Mankiw, N.G (2013) Principle of Macroeconomics 7th edition. Congage Learning: United States of America Romer, P.M. (1986). Increasing returns and long run growth. Journal of political economy Vol 94. Pp 1002-37 Romer, P.M. (1990). Capital, Labour and productivity. Journal of political economy Vol. 98, No 5: university of Chicago. Pp 339341 Solow, R.M (1956). A contribution to the theory of economic growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics. Pp 65-94

Saturday, October 12, 2019

A Comparison of George Orwells Totalitarian World of 1984 and America

Orwell's Totalitarian World of 1984 is America in 2004 Orwell's allegorical critique of Stalinism in 1984 is often used in capitalist nations as a poignant literary attack on Communism and other collectivist economic and political systems. The argument often follows the lines of "This is socialism, and as you can see, it doesn't work and just leads to oppression. We're in a nice capitalist democracy, therefore we are better off." But is that conclusion the truth? Orwell didn't just intend 1984 as an attack on communism or socialism; instead it is both an attack and a rather prophetic warning against any authoritarian structure, including the authoritarian structure of capitalist democracies. Often we do not equate "democracy" with totalitarianism, but thanks to the manipulation of language, we can have both "democracy" and a corrupt and oppressive regime simultaneously. How? Through the wonders of Orwell's newspeak and doublethink. This is not newspeak exactly as Orwell portrayed it (a open attempt at centralized modification of language), but more in the form of what Orwell warned about in his essay Language and Politics. The subtle debasing of words has allowed the powerful in democratic nations to successfully install a system which is blatantly counter-democratic in its behavior and yet is masked by twisted language. "Democracy" means, to many Americans, a system in which they choose their own leaders, voice their opinions to representatives in government, and human rights and freedoms are respected by the state. But in practice, "democracy," when applied abroad by the United States, means subjugating native peoples to the will of American corporations, and in the process, the destruction... ...s ideas of Newspeak and doublethink. Those who think America is far from the totalitarian world of 1984 are actually dead wrong. It is 1984 today in many respects; the only difference is that the leaders have done a much better job of covering up their wrongdoing. It could be said that Orwell was the prophet and Chomsky is the messiah of our current "democratic" state. Works Cited Chomsky, Noam. Profit Over People: Neoliberalism and Global Order. New York: Seven Stories Press, 1999. Chomsky, Noam. The Chomsky Trilogy (The Prosperous Few And the Restless Many (1994), Secrets, Lies and Democracy (1994), and What Uncle Sam Really Wants (1992) ). Tucson, AZ: Odonian Press/Seven Stories Press, 1999. (available in e-text from the Noam Chomsky Archive: http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/index.cfm) Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1949.

Friday, October 11, 2019

Development Plan Reflection Essay

Whilst reading various sources on the importance of reflecting after an experience I came across some wise words, that of Aitchison and Graham cited in Stoobants et al (2007:30) that say, â€Å"We do not learn from experience. Experience has to be arrested, examined, analysed, considered and negotiated in order to shift it to knowledge†. With these words in mind I began to see why it is important to reflect on my first MBA assignment. I see the MBA course as a learning journey, it is through reflecting on my past experiences that I will easily identify my strengths and weaknesses and thus easily identify areas that I should concentrate on developing during my MBA journey. In this assignment you will read about an experience that happened during the early stages of my career as a manager. I will analyse and discuss how this experience has led to where I am today and how it has affected my plans going forward in both my personal and working life. This was in year 2010. I was asked to act in the role of Management Accountant as my manager at that time resigned. I was then already hungry for more challenges and so I gladly accepted without hesitation as I was determined to prove that I am ready for it. Later that day it suddenly dawned on me that it was going to be challenging with the many vacancies in the team (Refer to Appendix 1 for the team structure). With this challenge in mind, I rearranged the team in order for it to work better. We embarked n the annual budget process later that year which did not go well as we did not complete the budget presentation within the stipulated timelines, did not get to analyse the critic all the numbers thoroughly and as a result the region was not ready for presenting the annual budget on time to Head Office. Post the experience below are the key things that I took out of that experience that I thought would enable me to manage teams better going forward: * Ensure that adequate training on the system is provided and requesting the business to provide more IT support people even outside of business hours during the budget process. Learn to lead and delegate and know that I cannot juggle my role and others as I can only achieve so such myself as I was doing most of the work that needed to be done by the Financial Planner: Benrose. * Seek advice from manager and not be afraid to ask for coaching. * Plan better around the timelines to take into account inexperience of some of my team members e. g. Plan a trial run presentation * Be more assertive as I realised that as a manager I could have negotiating additional resources since our headcount was lean so as not to compromise our deliverables. After having been through my first workshop at Henley, I liked Belbin (1981)’s team role model that was presented and in his book where he goes on to look at why management teams succeed or fail which I ironically discovered lying in my parents study and till now never bothered to even look at. He identifies 9 team roles in 3 categories. The action orientated people (Shapers, Implementers and Complete finishers). The thought orientated people (Co-ordinators, Teamworkers and Resource investigators). The last group are the people orientated (Specialists, Monitor evaluators (MEs) and plants). Had I applied his model to understand my team dynamics prior to starting the budget process, I would have seen that I had gaps in key roles that prevented us from completing the task on time. Please note the below roles assigned to my team members are just based on my own perception based on how I know them not based on the questionnaire that is normally completed. AFP – Implementer and Resource Investigator (She was the organiser for the team and was good at providing new knowledge or something new discovered whilst working on the new system and she would share it with the rest of the team) * FP Midrand – Plant and Resource Investigator (He was creative and generally looked at issues, he was cheerful and enthusiastic individual but was easily distracted and would want to start looking at new things without completing a task) * Me – Specialist and Monitor Evaluator. These were my top 2 roles from the results of the questionnaire I completed for my first workshop at Henley. I was a specialist in the team because I had more knowledge of the business and finance than my team. In retrospect, I would have been able to easily match the correct people with the rights tasks. I also could have put plans in place to ensure the following: * I had no shaper in the team. Belbin describes a shaper as generally someone able to drive a team and give direction – not having this I think contributed to us missing the deadline. So in requesting additional resources (e. . a temp person the business would have allowed) I could have ensured that I selected someone who is a shaper or developed more of shaper qualities in myself. * As we did not get to critically analyse the numbers prior our submission, if we had someone strong on being a completer finisher in the group chances of us submitting quality information would have been high as this role is effectively used at the end of a task, to â€Å"polish† and scrutinise the work for errors. I would definitely use this to my advantage going forward in my team tasks going forward.